Results 1,061-1,080 of 6,045 for speaker:Frank Feighan

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Drugs Strategy: Minister of State at the Department of Health (19 Jan 2022)

Frank Feighan: I will bring in Dr. Keenan, the HSE lead in addiction services. He might be able to clarify that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Drugs Strategy: Minister of State at the Department of Health (19 Jan 2022)

Frank Feighan: That is an interesting question. There were 1,000 clients who were given access to opiate substitution treatments in 2020 and 2021. This is under the Covid-19 contingency plan.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Drugs Strategy: Minister of State at the Department of Health (19 Jan 2022)

Frank Feighan: I will ask Dr. Keenan to articulate this.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Drugs Strategy: Minister of State at the Department of Health (19 Jan 2022)

Frank Feighan: We are committed to working with people on their journey to recovery. I will bring in Dr. Keenan to articulate exactly his views as clinical lead in this area.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Drugs Strategy: Minister of State at the Department of Health (19 Jan 2022)

Frank Feighan: If I may just clarify, I think I said there was 1,000 extra put on OST during the Covid pandemic.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Drugs Strategy: Minister of State at the Department of Health (19 Jan 2022)

Frank Feighan: I am going to bring in Mr. Walsh or Dr. Keenan on that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Drugs Strategy: Minister of State at the Department of Health (19 Jan 2022)

Frank Feighan: There are 24 task forces. There will always be one or two issues. This is an issue we need to resolve. When I was brought into the Department first, we engaged with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. We have had good collaboration with that Department. The Deputy has a point. There needs to be much more collaboration between the Department of Health and the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Drugs Strategy: Minister of State at the Department of Health (19 Jan 2022)

Frank Feighan: I would think so. A lot of that is in different detail. As I said, the first collaboration was between the Department of Health and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. You can see what happened with the wrap-around services. We were able to provide services to people who needed housing and who used drugs. It was a huge success. We need a lot more collaboration and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Drugs Strategy: Minister of State at the Department of Health (19 Jan 2022)

Frank Feighan: This is part of strategic priority 4. We are committed to a partnership approach across Departments and agencies and to tackling effectively the prevalence of poor health and social problems. The Deputy's question has been very pertinent. I hope a lot more collaboration between various Departments will happen.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Drugs Strategy: Minister of State at the Department of Health (19 Jan 2022)

Frank Feighan: I thank the Deputy. The national drugs strategy - Reducing Harm, Supporting Recovery - is the way forward. We established a working group in December 2017 to consider alternative approaches. It examined the option of decriminalising drugs and did not deem it an appropriate option in the Irish context due to legal difficulties and the fact that the group was very concerned it could lead to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Drugs Strategy: Minister of State at the Department of Health (19 Jan 2022)

Frank Feighan: The Deputy referred to stigmatisation. We have to take the stigma away from people who use drugs. I refer to the health-led approach in recent years. In addition, the work ongoing with the Department of Justice has been considerable. The Deputy referred to the drug task forces. They are the eyes and ears of the community. They bring to the attention of the HSE what needs to be funded...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Drugs Strategy: Minister of State at the Department of Health (19 Jan 2022)

Frank Feighan: I appreciate the Deputy's views but they spoke of the harm to themselves, their loved ones and their mental health. They also felt that no matter what grade cannabis was put in, most people would be looking for more of a high and young people under 18 years would still be targeted. I was surprised myself. When we have a citizens' assembly, and I hope we have it as quickly as possible, all...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Drugs Strategy: Minister of State at the Department of Health (19 Jan 2022)

Frank Feighan: I believe it is 10,000.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Drugs Strategy: Minister of State at the Department of Health (19 Jan 2022)

Frank Feighan: Does that include the extra 1,000 who came on during the Covid crisis?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Drugs Strategy: Minister of State at the Department of Health (19 Jan 2022)

Frank Feighan: The best way forward to me is the national drugs strategy. We received more than 20,000 submissions in 2017 and we have had a midterm review. It is a health-led approach. I grew up in the 1980s. There was not a drug problem as such. We had a drug problem but it was alcohol and tobacco. We did not deal with alcohol very well. The way we deal with these things is by destigmatising...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Drugs Strategy: Minister of State at the Department of Health (19 Jan 2022)

Frank Feighan: I thank the Deputy. I am looking forward to visiting Bushypark again. I have met Ms Margaret Nash on numerous occasions and am very aware of the great work she and her team have been doing at that centre. I will invite Dr. Keenan and Mr. Walsh to comment on the question of multi-annual funding.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Drugs Strategy: Minister of State at the Department of Health (19 Jan 2022)

Frank Feighan: I thank the Senator very much. I appreciate that her intention is very well meaning. We have said the war on drugs has not worked and that is why we brought in the national drugs strategy. In 2017, we-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Drugs Strategy: Minister of State at the Department of Health (19 Jan 2022)

Frank Feighan: Yes, but in 2017 we got a new-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Drugs Strategy: Minister of State at the Department of Health (19 Jan 2022)

Frank Feighan: I do not believe that. I think-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Drugs Strategy: Minister of State at the Department of Health (19 Jan 2022)

Frank Feighan: People who use drugs have human rights and we have met the group, Service Users' Rights in Action. We have said that a health version is required and compassion not punishment. We are moving in the right direction with the Department of Justice.